I'll be Home for Christmas
by Asher Elric
Summary: Harry, Sirius and Remus spend a nice family Christmas together before Harry has to face the last task. AU, set in GOF. side story to A Cold Room, Can I Call you Dad and a Fammily Summer.
1. Smashing Acting and Killer Rabbits!

_Summary – Harry, Remus and Sirius share a small family Christmas._

_Disclaimer - I do not own. It all belongs to other people. I alos make no money...geee....where is a killer-rabbit when you need one!_

_A/N – Staged in an AU of GOF. _

_**I'll be Home for Christmas**_

_**Part 1 – smashing acting and Killer-Rabbits!!! **_

_**___**_

_**Roses are reddish**_

_**Violets are bluish**_

_**If it weren't for Christmas,**_

_**We'd all be Jewish**_

_**~Benny Hill~**_

_**___**_

December was upon the castle faster than Harry James Potter would have liked, he still hadn't found a date for the Yule Ball and he wondered why he had to go in the first place. Thoughts of blowing it off entered his mind, and of course, why would he want to go to some stupid ball with some stupid girl who only went with him because of his fame when he could verily spend it with family?

"Is that a letter from Sirius?" Ron asked, bringing Harry out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, he wants to know if I can go home for Christmas," Harry replied. Hermione yelped happily and hugged him briefly.

"That would be wonderful, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, but what about that stupid Yule Ball?" Harry wondered.

"McGonagall would let you go, after all, the Yule Ball is a week before Christmas and you wouldn't really miss it," Hermione reminded them all.

"Right, and now I have to find someone to go with still," Harry groaned in apparent pain.

"Did Cho say no or what?" Ron reached for more eggs.

"She did, she's going with Cedric," Harry sighed.

"Who else are you going to ask?" this from Hermione.

"I have no clue, girls travel in flocks, it's impossible to get any one of them alone to ask," Harry explained.

"Just go up and do it," Hermione clicked her tongue before she gathered up her school books and bounced away from the table. Neither Harry nor Ron saw Hermione being followed by Victor Krum, intently.

"Well," Harry sighed, "I suppose that there ain't nothing for it,"

___

Remus pulled his light blue hat lower over his ears. He was cold and wanted to find a nice warm place to read, and mostly just stay by any fire he could find. However, Sirius Black had had other plans and since this was basically one Christmas that Sirius could actually participate in rightly, he wasn't leaving anything to chance. In fact, the only reason as to why Remus John Lupin was freezing his arse off right at that moment was because Sirius had decided that instead of buying a tree, they were going to go to Waltham Forest and get their own tree.

Every year, Waltham Forest would sell trees from their tree farm to raise money for the poor, it just so happened that this had been a Potter tradition and Sirius had liked it so much that every year he had went with James and his parents to find the perfect tree, cut it down, drag it to the car and drive on home with it and decorate. Remus' family had a different tradition, his mother was the most patient in the world, and so she preferred a plastic tree of which could be set up and taken down within moments, though the other decorating was fine by her.

Remus, however, had heard of this tradition and this was his first time and so Sirius was trying to make it fun, though he did wish that Harry were with him. But, if they were to have Christmas together, then they would need a tree.

"Sirius, if I stay out here any longer, I shall become Frost the Snow-wolf," Remus muttered, his teeth were clacking violently. Sirius took one look at his friend and nodded. Remus wasn't made for the blind, chilly English day.

"Let's go to a café and warm up," Sirius suggested. Across the street from the huge tree farm, of which they had all ready spent three hours trudging through, was a café that served hot chocolate and other fine goodies. Sirius went all out and got the goodies that he new Remus would enjoy the best.

They sat down at a table by the window; it was richly decorated with strands of icicle lights and fake snow that had been sprayed among the edges. Caroler's braved the cold them selves and stood in their 17th century costumes, the women in maroon dresses and white fur, the men in black trousers, white button down shirts, a maroon vest and black over coat with a plaid scarf and a top hat. All had mittens and song books.

_We three Kings of Orient are,_

_Bearing gifts we traverse afar,_

_Field and fountain, moor and mountain,_

_Following yonder star…_

_O star of wonder, star of night,_

_Star with royal beauty bright,_

_Westward leading, still proceeding,_

_Guide us to Thy perfect light…_

Sirius sighed as he listened to the Muggles version of the carol; "Christmas was the best time, even with my family, Mother and Father tried so hard to include me,"

"Really?"

"Yeah," Sirius smiled slightly, "It started after first year, Mother wrote and asked me, nicely, to join them for Christmas. So, I did, I actually got as many presents as my brother, Regulus, and Mother even let me change the colors of my room, sure, she wasn't too thrilled that it was Gryffindor colors, but she did it for me anyway," Sirius explained.

"It was nice that she tried," Remus said.

"Yeah," Sirius sipped at his coffee, "She was awesome during Christmas, but the rest of the year…sheesh, if there was one woman who needs Christmas every day, it was my Mum!" Sirius joked.

"My Mum was kinda weird, she never listened to carols till two weeks before, that's when she even started decorating, we had a plastic tree, everything was mostly purple because that was her favorite color, and she would help me make cookies for Santa Christmas eve, it was always after that we would make the Gingerbread House," Remus grinned, he got a refill on his hot chocolate.

"What do you think Harry did for Christmas, when he was with the muggles?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know, Dumbledore didn't tell a soul where Harry was and even Hagrid was hush on that note, though, if you had to get it out of him, I bet you could have done it," Remus replied.

"Yeah? I probably would have gotten the location, stolen Harry back and made sure he was loved!" Sirius dropped his head onto the table, the loud 'thunk" made the muggles look at them strangely, and made Remus blink.

"What if he doesn't want to spend Christmas with us?" Sirius asked, suddenly.

"Harry would want to spend it with us, but with the Yule Ball a week before, he'd fill his obligation as being a Champion of Hogwarts and also be able to come home," Remus explained.

"Really? Cool!" Sirius forgot his random moment of distress and with stars in his eyes, he started to bounce in his chair; "We're going to have so much fun!"

"Yes, are you on a sugar high? Did you put sugar in the coffee?" Remus blinked, not knowing what to do and hoping that no one was going to try and get them thrown out of the café.

"No way, sugar in coffee? Are you crazy?" Sirius gave Remus a look as if to say Remus was the crazy one here.

"Well, what do you say to wrapping the rest of this stuff up and getting that tree, I swear, I want to go home and sleep for a while," Remus said.

"Yeah, your furry little problem will be rearing if fuzzy head in a day or two," Sirius shrugged. Remus shook his head, a picture of random, foaming at the mouth; killer-rabbits filled his head.

"I'll need a hand grenade to get rid of your killer-rabbits," Remus commented.

"You'll need the Hand grenade of Antioch!" Sirius replied with a grin.

"_And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.(_1)" Remus quoted dead panned. Sirius gave him a look before he started to laugh crazily.

"You must have had a muggle in the family," Sirius giggled manly(2).

"Yeah, it was my Aunt, she showed me the movie," Remus shrugged.

"Lily showed it to me and James; we went around quoting it forever!" Sirius replied.

"Hehehehe, now, if only that gets rid of Death Eaters, we'd be made," Remus shook his head.

"And now onto scene 24, a smashing scene with wonderful acting(3)!" Sirius said. They gathered up their coats, scarves and other wintry-things to wear in the snow, before they paid their tab and once again wondered out into the frosty noon day for their tree.

_O Come, O Come, Emmanuel…_

_And ransom captive Israel,_

_That morns in lonely exile here,_

_Until the Son of God appeasr…_

_Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…_

_Shall come to thee, or Israel…!_

_____

_1 – A Passage from Monty Python and the Quest for the Holey Grail. Everything in italics is a direct quote. _

_2 – can Sirius Giggle Manly? That is so weird…but he probably could. _

_3 – Another line from MPatQftHG. I love this one especially._

_4 – O Come, O come Emmanuel is by an unknown dude, but the tune we know today is French the Translation for this is by John Mason Neal (1851)._

_5 – We Three Kings of Orient are – written by a minister, John Henry Hopkins in 1857. _

_a/n – I will finish this, this will be short. This is a side story to __**a Cold Room, Can I Call You Dad? And A Family Summer.**__ Enjoy!_


	2. Girls are a Pain in the Arse

**I'll be Home for Christmas**

**Part 2 – Girls are a pain in the arse**

**___**

**Of all pains, the greatest pain is to love, but love in vain ~ a Spanish saying**

**___**

Harry and Ron still had no dates for the Yule Ball and Harry was desperately thinking about skipping the entire thing anyway. Girl were a pain in the arse, Harry decided, they traveled in packs and…they just stared at you as if you had grown a tail or something weirder, like three heads and your name changed to Fluffy!

Harry wondered if his mother had been a pain or not. Aunt Petunia had been a pain so what would make his own mother different when all girls seemed to be the same way? Even Hermione was difficult. She suddenly had time for make up and hair products when she never really expressed interest in those areas before.

Flopping over in bed, Harry lit the end of his wand and drew the curtains around his bed, it was too late to actually be up but he couldn't sleep. Worrying about girls was stupid, so why couldn't he get rid of the thoughts? So, he grabbed a writing tablet and a quill with color changing ink that Sirius had sent him. He would write a letter to Sirius and Remus and see if they had any advice. After all, he didn't grow up in this world, he just stepped into some shit and there it was.

_Dad and Remus, _

_I can't get a date for the Yule Ball. I know this sounds stupid, but how did Dad get Mum? I mean was Mum difficult? Hermione is, always fixing her hair and other shit. _

_Well, that's all for now, I'll see you later. _

_Ta,_

_Harry_

Job done, Harry put the letter to the side, He would send it to his parental units in the morning, when he wouldn't get into trouble traversing the castle. He really didn't want to get detention…but…maybe….it was worth a try….

___

Remus whistled as he finally finished the Christmas tree. Sirius had gone outside long ago to decorate the front and back of their cottage home. Remus hated heights and so it had always fallen to Sirius or James (and on the odd occasion Peter, but the P-word was banned in the house, both of them) and it always would. It was the one thing that his friends had never teased him about either. They hadn't viewed it as weak, after all, after being bitten by a Werewolf and going through those changes every month, what was a bit of fright when it came to heights?

From the roof, Remus heard a bump and a yell as if it cam from far away. He the heard a series of knocks, bumps and thumps all accompanied by more yelling, suddenly, he saw the form of Sirius Black out side the window, thankfully unhurt as he was tangled in the lights that somehow where still anchored to the house.

Remus rushed to find their camera before going outside to help his best friend. He clicked it a couple of times. He laughed as Sirius glared at him; "What's was that for?"

"Don't you think Harry would want as many pictures as he can get?"

"Oh, sure," Sirius sighed, "Now help me get down!"

"Okay, okay, impatient much?" Remus chuckled. He waved his wand and the Christmas lights disappeared, Sirius fell the last two feet and landed in the fluff of the front yard. Now the string of lights that had been tangled about him lined the edge of the roof.

Remus looked down at the now developed pictures, tangle Sirius looked comical.

"I get to take a pic of you the next time you try and cook," Sirius muttered.

"Deal, after all, Marauder's share things equally," Remus replied. Sirius grinned.

"Do you remember your first Christmas at Hogwarts?" Sirius asked.

"Second year, Pettigrew couldn't be there, but James' parents went to the states to visit their cousins, Your family went to the Malfoy's and I didn't want to leave you two alone and so Mum gave me permission to stay," Remus grinned.

_"JAMES! REMUS!" Sirius yelled. Christmas morning had dawned clear and bright. Sirius had pulled on his robe (which had been green but he had spent a lot of time to transfigure the color to red and gold). James woke groggily._

_"What the bloody hell do you want?" James asked._

_"It's time to get up," Remus smiled, "It's Christmas, James!" _

_"Yes," Sirius agreed. The other two boys scrambled out of bed and ran down the stairs to the Christmas tree, they were the only Gryffindor students and so they knew that they could be as loud as they wanted and no one could yell at them for it. _

_"Wait," Sirius held up a hand. Remus and James looked at him oddly but did as the were told. _

_"Let us pray and not forget what Christmas is really about, the Three Wizards that joined Baby Jesus in the manger bringing him gifts of a King. That's why we give presents to each other now," Sirius said. Remus and James followed Sirius' example as he bowed and clasped his hands. He gave up a small prayer and then he let them tear into presents. _

_James got his very own Snitch, one that he could let go and it would fly around the room till he caught it again. His mother sent him a hat and scarf set with Gryffindor colors. James Dad sent him a joke spell book. Which James was sure his mother did not know about. Remus gave him a snow globe that had a little figurine that looked like Lily Potter flying about on a small skating pond. The song "Have yourself a Merry Christmas" played when James tapped his wand to make the globe work. This of course set James off on a rant about how beautiful Lily was. Sirius gave James a t-shirt of the Wizards Three, a rock band that James loved to listen to._

_Sirius got clothing from his mother, his father sent him a dark arts book; which looked innocent enough but the boys promised to take it to Professor Weller later to see if it was indeed as innocent as it looked. Regulus sent him a picture of the family, they were all gathered around the Christmas Tree and smiled at the camera, even the house elves were included. Sirius promised to put this in his photo book. Sure, he and his family had their disagreements, but Christmas was a time to forget these and give cheer and love instead. His father, Orion, sent him a broom. The Sirius Mover 500. Remus gave Sirius another book on dark arts, but this one was much more advanced than their school curriculum. It was old and looked well loved. Sirius knew that Remus and his family didn't have a lot of money, it was a nice present and would be one of those books he always took the best care of. James got him a joke kit. Dung bomb and flying fizz bee's would haunt the corridors for months later. _

_"Your Dad sure does have a sense of humor!" Remus laughed when he saw the name. _

_"But, I am a __**Serious Mover**__!" Sirius joked. _

_For Remus, his mother sent him her home made fudge and Christmas cookies along with books that had been written for Muggles but of which she knew her son would enjoy. He even got a new school robe. James had gotten Remus new shoes that would grow with him through his school days, that bit of magic James had done himself though it had taken a lot of practice on the Slytherin's to get it right. Sirius had gotten Remus a cloak, one that would grow warm when it was cold out and would keep him cools when it was hot out. A weather Cloak, Sirius had called it. _

_The rest of the day was spent going through the new books, figuring out which spells they could do and which they could not. They even made a trip to a court yard to have a snow ball fight. Remus was glad for the cloak, even when it got soaking we but he was warm and snug. _

"That was an awesome Christmas," Sirius grinned.

"Yeah, but I hope this one is better," Remus replied. He pulled Sirius into the house.

"Hot chocolate and then you can go back outside and put those things up the Muggle way," Remus chuckled.

"Right, it is getting cold," Sirius grinned.

Christmas really was the best time of year.

_The first Noel, the Angels did say…_

_Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay,_

_In fields where they lay, keeping their sheep,_

_On a cold winters night that was so deep,_

_Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel_

_Born is the King of Israel! _

_They looked up and saw a star,_

_Shinning in the east beyond them far,_

_And to the earth it gave great light,_

_And so it continued, both day and night,_

_Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,_

_Born is the King of Israel!_

___

His plan had not worked and so in vein, Harry retired to the Gryffindor Common room in order to sulk. It was there that he found a group of fellow students clustering around Ron. He looked quite shaken and as he explained that he had asked Fleur to the Yule Ball, but had yelled it out in the middle of the hall, Harry caught site of two girls who just so happened to be twins.

Well, he hoped, because of the way they were batting his eyes at him, that they had not all ready been asked to the ball.

___

_**A/N – This chapter was HELL to write! Not to mention that my Mum has taken over the House and shall now be decorating for Christmas herself. Oh the fun! If it were up to me, we'd do it two weeks before Christmas…yeah…and here I am writing a Christmas fic! I am such a critic!**_

_**The First Noel – was at first thought to be French in origin, because of the spelling. The old Anglo-Saxon spelling is Nowell. But, some think it is actually English. **_


	3. Someone got run over by the Knight Bus

**I'll be Home for Christmas**

**___**

**Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of Love.**

**~Hamilton Wright Mabie~**

**___**

**Chapter 3 – Someone got run over by the Knight Bus!**

Fred and George attacked Harry in the hallway outside of Transfiguration;

"T'was the night before Halloween, and all through the house, no Death Eater was stirring, not even a rat!

The stockings hung by the fire with care, with hopes that Voldemort would soon be there…"

Hermione hit them both upon the head; "That is not nice," she said.

"Oh come on, we were only having some fun," George muttered.

"Yeah, we didn't mean nothin' by it," Fred grinned.

"Go on you two, we'll be late for class," Hermione replied and marched past them. The twins continued down the hallway, singing carols as they did so.

"_Lockhart got run over by the Knight Bus,  
Walking home from the Weasleys Christmas Eve,  
You can say there's no such thing as Nighties,  
But as for me and Albus, we believe._

_He's been drinkin' too much butterbeer  
(sarcastically) And we begged him not to go,  
But we gave him medication  
And he staggered out the door into the snow._

_When we found him Christmas morning,  
At the scene of the attack,  
He had tire marks on his forehead,  
And incriminating Shunpikes on his back._

_Lockhart got run over by the Knight Bus,  
Walking home from the Weasleys Christmas Eve,  
You can say there's no such thing as Nighties,  
But as for me and Albus, we believe(1)."_

Hermione shook her head as she pulled Harry and Ron into the class the room. There were only two days to go before they all left to go home for Christmas. This would be Harry's first away from Hogwarts, but he was excited. Remus promised to take embarrassing pictures of Sirius while he was away and Sirius promised to help Harry play a prank on Remus. The whole holiday was going to be one that Harry wanted to remember, forever.

The Yule ball, or as Ron had started calling it the "Fool Ball" had been…all right. It wasn't at all what they had picture it would be. The Great Hall had been transfigured into a winter wonderland and snow flakes had graced the magical ceiling. The traditional dance had barley gone wrong with Harry, he wasn't a dancer and he vowed to never ever do it again. No matter what; Padma had been nice about it though. And as soon as the traditional stuff was out of the way, both Ron and Harry's dates had separated from them. Harry didn't know if they found others to dance with, but he honestly didn't care.

He and Ron spent the rest of the time eating and talking Quidditch.

"So, what are you going to do once you get home?" Ron asked.

"I have no clue, Sirius said that he wanted to play a practical joke on Remus and that I was supposed to help, no matter what," Harry replied. They all took their seats on the Gryffindor side of the class room. Professor McGonagall launched into a lesson about transfiguring things like shards of glass into glass balls or other shapes. Hermione was able to turn hers into Viktor Krum, Ron tried a rat, but all he got was glob of…something, and Harry made a large, buck with antlers.

Hermione's sculptor was looked upon gladly by McGonagall and she gave Hermione ten points, Harry's was second to Hermione's and he got five.

"I think I'll give this one to Sirius, I know it sounds a bit corny but…"

"It isn't corny at all," Hermione smiled, "I am sure that he'd like it,"

"I hope so," Harry wrapped it up, embarrassedly.

___

Sirius was seriously considering the things around him. He had found this old trunk at Grimauld Place and for one reason or another that he couldn't not clearly remember, had dragged it to their new home in the country. Stacks of baby clothes, Harry's baby broom, and other nick-knacks were spewed about the floor.

"What are you doing?" Remus asked.

"Moony! I wanted to give Harry something special, something from before his parents died, but…I don't know what to give him," Sirius looked up at his friend, flummoxed.

"Okay, let's see…the broom is a bit too small, ain't it?" Remus asked as he cleared a space in the bedroom to sit.

"Yeah, and look! I found the stuffed Prongs that I made for him. Remember how Harry would just cry whenever his parents weren't near? Well, I made this for him and spelled it a few times with Expecto Protronum and it quieted him down," Sirius now had a tear in his eye.

"And now, my little baby is all grow-ed up!"

"Stop wailing! It hurts my ears," Remus mockingly said, he cleared out one ear with his pinky finger and then banished the ear wax. Sirius crowed a bit at this.

"So, are you gonna help me or not?"

"Of course I am!"

___

Harry quickly filled out the owl order for the book store in Hogsmead. There were a few new Dark Arts books that Remus might enjoy. Harry had found a book about the care of Buckbeak and his species in general. Sirius was keeping Buckbeak in a barn near the outskirts of their land.

Not to mention that a few new parts for the Motorcycle that Sirius had just recently gotten back from Hagrid couldn't be missed. A fleece blanket for Remus would keep him snug, and it changed color, from gold to red and back.

Harry also filled out some candy orders, chocolate (sugar free) for Hermione, new quills and paper because she had been complaining of running out and every flavored beans for Ron and a broom kit as well.

Harry sent his owl off right away; hopefully everything would be delivered in a timely manner.

___

"Look at this!" Sirius held up an old photo graph for Remus to see. It was of a one year old Harry flying on his first broom; along with it was a letter that Lily had written to Sirius when he was away that Christmas doing work for Dumbledore and the Order.

"Have you found our old album?" Remus asked suddenly, a light bulb went off in both of their heads and they smiled at each other.

"Oh! this is gonna be so cool!" Sirius hopped up.

"Let's go through all of our old things and see who has it, I thought James had it," Remus said as he too stood up.

"I thought we had given it to you?" Sirius scratched behind his ear.

"I don't think so…." Remus trailed off. The attic was their next stop.

___

a/n –

1 – "Lockhart got run over by the Knight Bus". This is a filk written by Bighead Girl and MagicPoni to the tune of "Grandma got run over by a reindeer". I am not good at making up rhymes or anything, so I "Borrowed" it with "every intention" of giving them credit. *lol*

Yes, I am channeling Captain Jack Sparrow.

And now, on to scene 24, a wonderful scene with lovely acting!

(Monty Python and the Holy Grail)


	4. Memoirs of the Marauders

**I'll be Home for Christmas**

**___**

_**The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. This wasn't for any religious reasons. They couldn't find three wise men and a virgin.  
- Jay Leno**_

**___**

**Chapter 4 – Memoirs of the Marauders**

_Mr. Prongs,_

_Did you see the news today? I must say, it is rather depressing. What with those Muggles just dead like that; and with Slughorn going on and on during class, I don't know about you. But, I think a prank should be done to cheer everyone up!_

_Ta, Mr. Padfoot_

_____

**Mr. Padfoot,**

**Mr. Moony and I agree that something should be done. No one is laughing any longer. It is as if we only ever have Dementors around, and that is uncalled for. Though, I think Umbridge has something to do with it. That Toad is just Hitler-like with the First Years. **

**Ta, Mr. Prongs and Mr. Moony**

___

Messrs, Moony, Padfoot and Prongs,

Umbridge seems to think that we have a Werewolf problem. I heard her talking about it with Slughorn. She said that she saw a Werewolf last weekend (the full moon) and she also said that it was playing with a large dog. I wonder what she was doing out there that late.

Ta, Mr. Wormtail

___

**Messrs, Moony, Prongs and Wormtail,**

**Bugger, that witch needs to keep her nose out of our business. The last thing we need is for our Animagus' identities getting out. We'd end up in Azkaban faster than one can say "Quiditch".**

**Ta, Mr. Padfoot**

___

Messrs, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs – 

I quite agree. I do wonder how I could not smell her. Perhaps she was down wind of us? Well, let us be careful next time. I know that I have no memories of these nights, but still, I do not want to bite anyone. No matter how Toad-ish they are in nature. 

Ta, Mr. Moony

___

_Mr. Moony,_

_I agree. We need to be more careful. _

_Ta, Mr. Padfoot_

___

Remus smiled as he went through the notes. He could omit the one from Wormtail but then the story would be lost and…well…lingering feelings must be taken cared of. Peter Pettigrew could not escape from Azkaban. After all, the Azkaban Guards put an anti-animagus spell on his cell. The spell was the strongest known; no one could change within the spells parameters.

Shuffling the papers, Remus found some more of their notes. Nostalgia came over him and he sighed. Being at Hogwarts for seven years had been the best years of his life. It had hurt when James and Lily died, he couldn't adopt Harry because of his blood-status, and Sirius had been locked up.

The results of the consequences of choosing Peter as the Secret Keeper had kept him in a dark abyss for many years; he hadn't even known that it was Peter. He had blamed Sirius, who had been innocent the entire time. How time flew, now he found that he wasn't depressed, more prone to be up in the mornings instead of dragging himself out of bed and going to work, or find work as he had lost lots of jobs due to his condition.

Sirius stomped in from shoveling their drive way, it had been two days since they had decided to go through their old things. They found their photo album and were glad to see that there were only three to four pictures that had Pettigrew in them, seeing as how he was the one usually chosen to take the picture in the first place. They had spruced it up and Remus added the fifteen new pictures he had taken just over the two week period. Harry would be arriving home in another day or so.

"Mr. Padfoot would like to ask Mr. Moony what it is that he has found?"

"Mr. Moony would like to inform Mr. Padfoot that Mr. Moony has found some old note that he and the other Marauder's passed in classes,"

"Spiffing!" Sirius smiled. He sat down next to Remus in order to read some of their old notes.

___

**Messrs Moony, Wormtail and Padfoot, **

**I have a brilliant idea. We need to make a map of Hogwarts that only we can see. We've been running into road blocks ever since the beginning of the year when Umbridge became a Prefect. Even if I am Headboy. This is not COOL!**

**Ta, Mr. Prongs**

___

Mr. Prongs,

I do agree. A map that only we can see, one that even tells us where various people are in the castle and all Seven passages that we have discovered so far. 

Ta, Mr. Moony

___

_Messrs, Prongs and Moony,_

_Brilliant. I am there. I shall start the research then, shall I?_

_Ta, Mr. Padfoot_

___

"Harry has the Map," Remus said suddenly.

"Really? I did wonder where it went after Filch stole it from us," Sirius replied.

"Apparently, Fred and George Weasley found the map in second year, they gave it to Harry in his third," Remus explained.

"It really is a handy map," Sirius nodded.

"The magic was even beyond seventh year students. We got it in a matter of a year," Remus remembered.

"It's too bad you can't teach there, it would be fun to be in on some of your classes," Sirius said.

"Yes, but that is why I retired. I was going to kill Harry, Hermione and Ron. If you hadn't been there…and I almost killed you," Remus sighed.

"No, no you never did," Sirius shook his head.

"I know, but still…"

"You helped me, and you helped them. Without you, they would have had a teacher like Lockhart,"

"Yeah, I suppose you are right," Remus smiled.

"Of course I am right. I am Sirius Leigh Black, Marauder and sex god…shut up!"

Remus was rolling around on the floor, laughing hard; "YOU!? A SEX GOD!?"

"MOONY!"

"You are funny as always!" Remus was crying at this point.

"Shut up before I hex you!" Sirius growled.

"Oooohhh! I am so scared of the big, fluffy dog!"

"That's it!"

With a scream and a lurch, Sirius lunged forward in order to capture his best friend. Remus was too quick and had made it to his feet seconds before, which resulted in Sirius landing on his face.

"Was that the best you can do?" Remus teased. Sirius growled and got to his feet. The rest of the afternoon was given over to chasing each other and turn each others hair rather difficult colors, such as Slytherin Yellow. Their play chase soon turned into a pillow fight and it was evening before the two adults settled down and once again became, adult-ish.

"I haven't had that much fun since that time the whole of the Great Hall had a pillow fight. Remember that?" Sirius grinned. He took up the whole of the couch, staring at the ceiling, he recalled this memory.

"That one was funny, I must admit. Having random pillows pop out of the cutlery and attacking students," Remus chuckled fondly.

"I must teach that one to Harry, it might come in handy," Sirius quipped.

"Yeah, if he fell from his broom, he'd have to keep a fork up his sleeve," Remus retorted.

"What's for dinner, Moony?"

"I don't know, wanna just go raid the fridge and watch a movie tonight?" Remus asked.

"Yeah!"

___

_The Pillow Incident had started off innocently enough. _

_As most pranks start, it all started innocently in the library where Remus J. Lupin had decided to make his escape from Severus Snape and his meretricious group of Slytherin's that decided today would be a good day to torture Lupin. This, of course, was dangerous, for once in a blue moon, Remus felt like tearing throats out and burying bones in the yard. It was too close to the full moon to mess with him. _

_Besides Pettigrew, it could be said that Remus was the most innocent out of the Marauder's. Though, Pettigrew was just insanely shy and easy to boss about. Remus was different, one could not boss this Werewolf and his friends knew it. Speaking of which, Sirius poked his head around a stack of books in order to get a better look at his friend. _

_"We heard about Snape," Sirius said by way of an excuse to have sniffed out Remus. _

_"I suppose you guy's would," Remus sighed, he didn't bother to look up from his book. _

_"Mr. Prongs wants to know what Mr. Moony deigns as a punishment for Snivels," Sirius sat down in a chair by Mr. Moony. Sirius wasn't one to be patient but when it came to Remus he had learned long ago that just letting the boy think was better than beating his head in with a bludger. _

_"I may have found something," Remus muttered. Sirius leaned over and read a passage from the page that Remus pointed out. _

_"Whoa, I so did not know you could do that!" _

_"Well, do you think it's a good idea?" Remus asked._

_"Any idea of yours is a good idea," Sirius reassured. _

_"Okay, well…let's do it," Remus gave Sirius a little smile. Sirius clapped his friend on the back. _

_"Moony, ole' pal! I will be at your side every moment!" _

_"Thank you, Mr. Padfoot…" _

_____

_a/n- stay tuned for the dramatic prank! Well, I hope you liked this one. It's just a bit of a break from the regular fic and it will give me time to get Harry to Sirius and Remus for Christmas!_

_Ta_

_Professor Know It All_


	5. Arrival

****

**A/N - Well, everyone, the first to last of the ending. I hope you like this update. I know that it is a bit short but the next chapter shall be the last. I would like to take this time to thank everyone who has reviewed this story and I want to encourage that we all keep in mind the important thing about Christmas, the love of our family and friends, the fact that we are blessed and that our circumstances could be much worse. **

**We must also remember the birth of Jesus Christ, our way, our path and our light. **

**O come all ye faithful. **

**ta,**

**Professor Know It All**

__

**I'll Be Home for Christmas**

**Chapter 5 – Arrival**

**---**

Ave Maria  
Gratia plena  
Maria, gratia plena  
Maria, gratia plena  
Ave, ave dominus  
Dominus tecum  
Benedicta tu in mulieribus  
Et benedictus  
Et benedictus fructus ventris  
Ventris tuae, Jesus.

Ave Maria, gratia plena  
Maria, gratia plena  
Maria, gratia plena  
Ave, ave dominus  
Dominus tecum

___

**Remus parked their car in the parking lot of Kings Crossing. **A group of carolers were standing in front with a bucket that people put lose change in. Sirius searched his pockets; "I know I have it," he muttered.

"Have what?" Remus enquired.

"Lose change, I found some that the muggles left at the cottage before we moved in," Sirius grinned when he found it. It wasn't much by Muggle standards, but Sirius thought he had found a treasure trove, and to Remus, that was all that mattered.

"Let's go find out puppy," Remus shook his head. Both men wore heavy red jackets with gold winter hats and their Hogwarts scarves. Remus had found the old things almost eaten away by moths, but a bit of magic went far in this case. Sirius dropped the coins into the bucket as they walked by.

"I cannot wait to see Harry," Remus sighed.

"Have you missed our little one?" Sirius grinned.

"Yes, more than you know," Remus shook his head.

"Yeah, me too," Sirius patted his friends shoulder as they mad their way to deck

9 ¼. They passed through the invisible wall to find themselves with other receiving parents. The crowd was rather small and so they were able to spot Harry. He was wearing a heavy black coat with his house crest on the right breast pocket. He also wore his Gryffindor scarf. He waved when he saw his parental units.

"Dad! Uncle Remus, I was almost worried that you had forgotten," Harry said as he hugged the two men.

"We would never forget you, Harry," Remus said softly.

"How could we, there is absolutely no way we could," Sirius grinned.

"Let's go home, there is a lot to do for tomorrow," Remus said, "We have a gingerbread house to decorate and stockings to hang," he said.

"Stockings…?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, has no one ever told you about Santa Clause?" Remus asked.

"Er – no," Harry felt his face go red.

"Well then, there is no time like the present," Sirius laughed.

--

Come they told me  
**Pa rum pum pum pum**  
A new born King to see  
**Pa rum pum pum pum **  
Our finest gifts we bring  
**Pa rum pum pum pum  
**To lay before the kIng  
**Pa rum pum pum pum,  
rum pum pum pum,  
rum pum pum pum  
**So to honor Him  
**Pa rum pum pum pum**  
When we come  
Little baby

--

Harry left his trunk in his bed room; unpacked. He would have a week with his Dad and Uncle before he had to go back to school and worry about the last task. He had dis-guarded his winter wear and now joined Remus at the kitchen table. The royal icing was just about ready and Sirius was strewing about loads of candy.

"Why are we doing this again?" Harry asked.

"It's a tradition in my family," Remus explained, "We did it every Christmas on Christmas Eve, which is today," Remus smiled.

"Oh," Harry muttered.

"Okay, it's easy," Sirius laughed, "All you do is take the icing to the house and decorate it however you want. Just let your imagination go wild," Sirius instructed.

"Okay, I think I can do that," Harry grinned.

Remus handed Harry and Sirius a bowl of icing and a knife. For most of the afternoon the three ate, iced and decorated. They talked about everything from Hagrid showing Harry the dragons to the fact that Snape was headmaster.

"It's just weird," Harry muttered.

"Who'd they get to take over potions?" Remus asked.

"Slughorn," Harry replied.

"Wow, I never thought they'd bring back that bag of bones," Sirius muttered. A lolly-pop hit him in the side of the head.

"Don't say that!" Remus glared.

"What? It's true!"

"Anyway," Harry interjected before a fight could break out, "what do you think of my Marsh-mort?" Harry held up a marshmallow that he had stylized after Voldemort, well, how he figured Voldemort looked like. It held a broom in on pretzel arm.

"It's very interesting," Remus said.

"Yeah," Harry shrugged his shoulders.

Out side it had begun to snow and the wind blew hard against the house; "Looks like we're going to have a white Christmas," Sirius said. Remus smiled.

"_Ding Dong! merrily on high  
In heav'n the bells are ringing  
Ding, dong! verily the sky  
Is riv'n with angel singing  
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis_ Remus sand in the nice tenor he had always had. Sirius and Harry joined in soon after, neither have good singing voices, but nonetheless, singing carols wasn't about how well you did it, it was about just doing it.

E'en so here below, below  
Let steeple bells be swungen  
And i-o, i-o, i-o  
By priest and people be sungen  
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis.."

"_Pray ye dutifully prime  
Your matin chime, ye ringers  
May ye beautifully rime  
Your evetime song, ye singers  
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis…!"_

__

The mantle above the fire was decorated with holly and the stockings. A plate of cookies and some butterbeer had been set out for Santa Clause. Harry still wasn't sure why one did this, but apparently it was another tradition that he could hardly remember. At Hogwarts no one really bothered with this.

Sirius came from the kitchen with a tray of hot chocolate and pumpkin pasties.

"Ah, this has been the best Christmas so far," Sirius said as he sat down on the couch next to Harry. "I used to imagine what Christmas would be while stuck in Azkaban," Sirius said softly.

"Is it better?" Harry asked.

"Much more better," Sirius reassured.

"Good," Harry smiled, "I remember my first Christmas at Hogwarts. I got my Invisibility Cloak and Mrs. Weasley made me a jumper,"

"I think you like her jumpers," Remus winked at Harry, making the boy laugh a little.

"Yeah, that was my first real Christmas," Harry replied, "But this one beats all besides that one when you adopted me," Harry grinned and hugged Sirius.

"I quite agree on that one," Sirius kissed Harry's forehead.

They sat before the fire for many minutes, just thinking about the past year and what a new one might bring. Remus prayed for peace, he wasn't one for violence, Sirius prayed that Harry and Remus would stay safe and Harry, well he prayed that he would never forget this night, now any other that followed which involved the two men who had taken him in when no one else wanted him.

__

_Go, tell it on the mountain,  
over the hills and everywhere.  
Go, tell it on the mountain  
that Jesus Christ is born._

_While Shepard's kept their watching  
o'er silent flocks by night,  
beyond, throughout the heavens  
There shone a holy light._

_Go, tell it on the mountain,  
over the hills and everywhere.  
Go, tell it on the mountain  
that Jesus Christ is born._

_The Shepard's feared and trembled  
when lo, above the earth  
rang out the angel chorus  
that hailed our Savior's birth!_


End file.
